What will happen now if you get a speeding ticket as awareness courses suspended

It's one of the most dreaded letters that could drop through any driver's letterbox: you have been issued a speeding fine.
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And normally when that happens, for a first offence at least, motorists are offered the option of attending a speed awareness course instead of taking three points on their licence (but the £100+ fine usually remains...).

But now the National Police Chiefs Council lead for roads policing has stated that it is 'no longer appropriate' for police forces to offer classroom based education courses, which bring people together in one place, due to the risk of spreading coronavirus.

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Speed cameras are still active and will still issue fines. The government advice is that people should not travel unless strictly necessary, but key workers may still find themselves out on the roads - and speed cameras will still be enforced.

Speed cameras will still issue finesSpeed cameras will still issue fines
Speed cameras will still issue fines

What happens now if I get a speeding ticket?

A statement issued by UK Road Offender Education (UKROEd) who operate, manage, administer and develop the scheme on behalf of the Police Service, says it 'will therefore suspend all classroom based courses for an initial period of 12 weeks' from last Friday.

It is not yet clear what will happen to drivers who do pick up a speeding ticket, or to those who were already arranged to attend a course, but UKROEd will be in touch with anyone affected by the change to explain what the next step will be.

The statement said: "This is the right thing to do to help protect individual’s health and reduce the risks associated with a wider spread of the virus.

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"We will now work with forces and course providers to establish options to deal with drivers who have already been offered a course.

"You will be contacted to explain what is going to happen next by the police force who issued you the offer or your course provider (if you booked a course).

"You will hopefully understand that this is a massive undertaking and we would ask that you allow the Police and Course providers some time to work through everything."

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